Lawrence station

Was home visiting my family recently and took a ride over to the new Lawrence station. Quite nice as "sterile" stations go, and tickets are now on sale there. There are two platforms: a high-level one on the westbound [trk 1?] side, and what appears to be a temporary, short low-level platform on the eastbound side, with a platform to cross the tracks to access the new station. The new crossover [CP Frost?] has been put into place, but no signal work evident. Four-level parking garage is also there, but there's no MVRTA information to be had.

Here's my beef. Since some say scheduling on this line is already a nightmare on the line due to single track, I can't for the life of me fathom why they're going to add more.

I've said this before here, so there's no need to respond to that, unless you want to gripe too!

I used the Lawrence station last week and was quite nice...easy to get into from North Andover, plenty of parking, didn't have to dash across Railroad Ave. in Andover to buy a ticket.

My one complaint about it is the temporary platform. I was on the 515 p.m. express from North Station, and we arrived into Lawrence more or less on time. After crossing the tracks, as I'm walking down the elevated platform, another MBTA train (inbound to Boston) came through...this could be a disaster waiting to happen right there (especially since the train is still pretty full at Lawrence, since it's express to Wakefield).

Yes, but it's a vast improvement over the old one, which, as I recall was one of the worst. Now that they've got a nice station, they should move the Downeaster stop down there; I think you'd get more riders than at Haverhill, because Lawrence is a bigger city.

mersk862 wrote:IAfter crossing the tracks, as I'm walking down the elevated platform, another MBTA train (inbound to Boston) came through...this could be a disaster waiting to happen right there.

Are there any warning devices of trains approaching on the adjacent track? Perhaps there should be a "cut-out" there per Timetable Special Instructions.

I have some photos from the Lawrence Sta i took yesterday that I posted on NERAIL, if i can figure out how to get them here.. I would show everyone, so for now you can look at them on NERAIL.

http://photos.nerail.org/show/?order=by ... y=bkennedy

That station is a "cut out" and I just so happen to be on that inbound(#236). We hold out of the station and WAIT for everyone to cross before we take the station. It's actually just like the old station, where we held out also. There is a warning system, and by all rights after #231 clears we should be able to enter cause no one should be crossing with the system activated!!!

sery2831 wrote:That station is a "cut out" and I just so happen to be on that inbound(#236). We hold out of the station and WAIT for everyone to cross before we take the station. It's actually just like the old station, where we held out also. There is a warning system, and by all rights after #231 clears we should be able to enter cause no one should be crossing with the system activated!!!

John, hopefully people will understand to "look both ways" kinda like crossing the street, just this is before crossing active railroad tracks..

I assumed that was the case John, but I haven't been up that way in many years. Thanks for the clarification.

Where is the new station located in relation to the old station?

JD

RailBus63 wrote:Where is the new station located in relation to the old station?

JD

Right Down the Streeet Actually.. If you stand on the Platform facing Boston on the new station, you can see the old platform. The address of the new station is 75 Merrimack St